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Vyshka G, Ulqinaku D. Understand My Language, to Understand My Pain: Challenges of Neurological Evaluation Among Refugees. LINACRE QUARTERLY 2021; 88:400-405. [PMID: 34949885 PMCID: PMC8689496 DOI: 10.1177/00243639211030375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The increasing number of migrants and refugees entering Albania during the last decade has been a challenge to the medical service of the country. Many of the migrants arrive from remote areas of Middle East or other Asian regions, heading toward northern Europe, deprived from medical assistance during their tormenting journey. An exacerbation of previous m"unicodeedical conditions is expected and is related to the hardship of traveling conditions. The medical professionals working in migration medicine have little, if any, training on the field and need to familiarize themselves with a variety of previously unknown conditions. Empathy, necessary on an individual basis, may not be sufficient in itself; the burden of medically treating migrants needs a holistic and multidisciplinary approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gentian Vyshka
- Biomedical and Experimental Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine in Tirana, Tirana, Albania
- Gentian Vyshka, Biomedical and Experimental Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine in Tirana, Rr. Dibres 371, Tirana 1005, Albania.
| | - Dritan Ulqinaku
- Department of Chronic Diseases, Institute of Public Health, Tirana, Albania
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Offenbacher R, Rybinski B, Joseph T, Rahmani N, Boucher T, Weiser DA. An 8-Year-Old Boy With Fever, Splenomegaly, and Pancytopenia. Pediatrics 2020; 146:peds.2019-2372. [PMID: 32532792 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2019-2372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
An 8-year-old boy with no significant past medical history presented to his pediatrician with 5 days of fever, diffuse abdominal pain, and pallor. The pediatrician referred the patient to the emergency department (ED), out of concern for possible malignancy. Initial vital signs indicated fever, tachypnea, and tachycardia. Physical examination was significant for marked abdominal distension, hepatosplenomegaly, and abdominal tenderness in the right upper and lower quadrants. Initial laboratory studies were notable for pancytopenia as well as an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein. Computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen and pelvis showed massive splenomegaly. The only significant history of travel was immigration from Albania 10 months before admission. The patient was admitted to a tertiary care children's hospital and was evaluated by hematology-oncology, infectious disease, genetics, and rheumatology subspecialty teams. Our multidisciplinary panel of experts will discuss the evaluation of pancytopenia with apparent multiorgan involvement and the diagnosis and appropriate management of a rare disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Offenbacher
- The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, New York; and .,Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | - Brad Rybinski
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | - Tuhina Joseph
- The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, New York; and.,Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | - Nora Rahmani
- The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, New York; and.,Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | | | - Daniel A Weiser
- The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, New York; and.,Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
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Ruan W, Feng Y, Zhang L, Sun J, Yao L. Health problems associated with international travel: a case of cutaneous myiasis in China due to Cordylobia anthropophaga imported from Uganda. Biosci Trends 2015; 8:346-9. [PMID: 25641182 DOI: 10.5582/bst.2014.01132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
More affordable international travel, global trade and commerce, and the exporting of labor have all contributed to international population mobility. Furthermore, population migration leads to the incidence or recurrence of once-controlled diseases. Evidence shows that the popularity of travel can impact health through imported infections and illness. Imported cutaneous myiasis, a type of skin lesion, has attracted the attention of the current authors. This condition often occurs among travelers and it has been reported in several non-endemic countries. However, diagnosis of myiasis and identification of the larvae are difficult. Advances in molecular detection techniques could provide a new way to identify larvae. This study used sequencing of the 28S rRNA gene and morphology to identify the larva infesting the upper arm of a Chinese woman returning from Uganda. The larva was identified as Cordylobia anthropophaga (C. anthropophaga) and the sequences were submitted to GenBank (accession number: KM506761). As foreign interaction increases, imported health problems may become more common in China. Knowledge about various pathogens needs to be increased and molecular methods need to be used to accurately identify those pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Ruan
- Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention
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Rodrigues PT, Alves JMP, Santamaria AM, Calzada JE, Xayavong M, Parise M, da Silva AJ, Ferreira MU. Using mitochondrial genome sequences to track the origin of imported Plasmodium vivax infections diagnosed in the United States. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2014; 90:1102-8. [PMID: 24639297 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.13-0588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the geographic origin of malaria cases imported into the United States can often be inferred from travel histories, these histories may be lacking or incomplete. We hypothesized that mitochondrial haplotypes could provide region-specific molecular barcodes for tracing the origin of imported Plasmodium vivax infections. An analysis of 348 mitochondrial genomes from worldwide parasites and new sequences from 69 imported malaria cases diagnosed across the United States allowed for a geographic assignment of most infections originating from the Americas, southeast Asia, east Asia, and Melanesia. However, mitochondrial lineages from Africa, south Asia, central Asia, and the Middle East, which altogether contribute the vast majority of imported malaria cases in the United States, were closely related to each other and could not be reliably assigned to their geographic origins. More mitochondrial genomes are required to characterize molecular barcodes of P. vivax from these regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priscila T Rodrigues
- Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Parasitology, Gorgas Memorial Institute of Health, Panama City, Panama; Center for Global Health, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - João Marcelo P Alves
- Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Parasitology, Gorgas Memorial Institute of Health, Panama City, Panama; Center for Global Health, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Ana María Santamaria
- Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Parasitology, Gorgas Memorial Institute of Health, Panama City, Panama; Center for Global Health, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - José E Calzada
- Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Parasitology, Gorgas Memorial Institute of Health, Panama City, Panama; Center for Global Health, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Maniphet Xayavong
- Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Parasitology, Gorgas Memorial Institute of Health, Panama City, Panama; Center for Global Health, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Monica Parise
- Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Parasitology, Gorgas Memorial Institute of Health, Panama City, Panama; Center for Global Health, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Alexandre J da Silva
- Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Parasitology, Gorgas Memorial Institute of Health, Panama City, Panama; Center for Global Health, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Marcelo U Ferreira
- Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Parasitology, Gorgas Memorial Institute of Health, Panama City, Panama; Center for Global Health, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
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